1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a terminal device and a communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Communication systems such as video teleconference systems (sometimes referred to as television conference systems) that implement a communication with a remote place by transmitting and receiving, for example, an image (video) or voice in real time through a network such as the Internet are known.
For example, in a video teleconference system, a teleconference terminal used by a participant at a first end takes an image of the participant and collects voice including a speech by the participant, and then transmits the image and voice to a teleconference terminal used by a participant at a second end. Meanwhile, the teleconference terminal used by a participant at the second end receives the image and voice to display the image and output the voice. This implements a remote conference.
For example, Japanese Patent No. 3,370,530 discloses a technique in which a video camera with a plurality of built-in microphones is used in a television teleconference system. The video camera includes a pan, tilt, and zoom (PTZ) function that can externally be controlled. The video camera synthesizes the voice signals input from the microphones with the parameter in accordance with the control signal indicating the state of PTZ, and outputs the synthesized signal to the outside.
The technique disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3,370,530 can outputs the voice signal corresponding to the imaging range in which the video camera takes images (the taken images) to the outside. This can improve the sound quality of the television conference.
However, the conventional technique described above fails to flexibly synthesize the voice that is desired at the receiving end, for example, to synthesize the voice in a range that is to be noticed at the receiving end because the voice is synthesized at the sending end.
Therefore, there is a need for a terminal device and communication system that are capable of flexibly synthesizing the voice that is desired at the receiving end.